Something's Heating Up
by Rule12H8r
Summary: Something is heating up in the kitchen. What happens when Tony helps Ziva cook for a team dinner part? Tiva. Rating caused by extreme paranoia. Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or the characters. Might continue it if you guys like it. Read, review, enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Ziva just got changed and was heading to her kitchen. She had to start soon so that the food would be ready in time for her team dinner party. She was still getting out the ingredients when there was a knock at the door. Confused, she checked the clock. It was only 4:50, she told everyone to come at six.

Putting the pot she just got out down on the stove, Ziva went to go see who was at the door.

She was surprised to see her partner, Tony DiNozzo, through the peephole. Smiling, and still confused, she opened the door.

Tony entered the apartment and turned to her once she stepped out of the way, allowing him to come in. He smiled back, but saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"Hello Tony." Ziva finally greeted.

"Hey Z, I know I'm really early. Just thought, maybe you could use some help. It is my family recipe you borrowed for tonight, so I thought you could use some guidance." He explained feeling a little nervous suddenly as he followed her down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Okay, thanks again for letting me use it by the way." Ziva answered calmly, clearly happy about him being here now.

"Of course, when I made it for the last movie night you seemed to really love it, so it's no problem." Tony wanted to add _It's worth it to see you smile_ but thought that might be going too far. He couldn't risk pushing her away again. _Besides,_ he thought to himself_, she doesn't like me like that. Not like I do her. _

"We should start now, so that it is done before the rest of the team gets here."

"Yeah, let's get started." With that they finished getting out the rest of what they needed.

"Okay, Chef David, first things first. Heat up the stove and pour in some oil." Tony said goofily.

Ziva rolled her eyes, but was inwardly glad that despite everything they could still joke around like they used to. Things hadn't been the same since Dearing's bomb. They had been more open emotionally with each other. It was nice to be able to talk about things that they didn't before, but they didn't kid around as much as they did before. The two of them still avoided talking about their feeling for each other for the most part.

"Yes sir." She replied sarcastically, following his instructions none the less.

Another fifteen minutes and they had a pan of chicken parmesan in the over and a pot of pasta sauce on the stove.

They spoke casually even so often. Mostly, though, they just enjoyed the silent comfort that always surrounded them when they were together.

Tony reached into the fridge and pulled out two beers.

"Todah." Ziva thanked, accepting the drink.

"Prego." Tony said.

They both zoned out for a moment, remembering that conversation they shared out in front of that hotel in the pouring rain on that first night. It was one of their first memories and their first real talk.

Snapping out of the memory Tony reached forward to stir the sauce. Ziva watched him; an endearing expression ghosted her features. This was one of her favorite things.

Being with her best friend out of work, and being able to see him acting domestically. You would never guess the playboy bachelor of the year would also be an amazing cook, especially not the kind of guy to follow and cherish his grandmother's recipes.

Most people didn't know, but occasionally, in times like this, Ziva got to see just how sentimental of a man he really was.

Ziva continued to blatantly stare at him while he stirred. Tony noticed this and flashed her a small, personal smile before holding the wooden spoon up to Ziva to let her have a taste.

Ziva cast a shy glance to the floor, and then tasted the sauce. It was as delicious as it was the last time he made it. Ziva let out a moan of delight just as Tony shifted the spoon, purposely getting sauce on her nose.

Tony pulled the spoon back and put it down. Ziva glared at him, he shrugged innocently. Both of their eyes had that glint of humor in them showing how hard they were trying to keep from laughing.

Ziva reached around him, picked the spoon back up and quickly swiped it across his face, getting it on his cheek and his mouth.

Tony finally broke out into a laugh and a huge grin at that and Ziva lost her angry facade as well. They stood there laughing in the kitchen like that in a picture perfect moment until they regained their composure. Even though their laughter died down the happiness never left their expressions.

Standing there, just like that, staring into each other's eyes pulled them away from the humor and into the intimacy they wanted so desperately to share.

Tony figured it wouldn't be too risky to just- and with that he stepped closer to her and, lightly caressing her face, wiped the sauce off with his thumb.

Still smiling, he gave her a thumbs-up right in front of her face, showing her the sauce that was no longer on her face.

Daring to make the next move, Ziva leant forward and kissed the sauce off his thumb and then licked her lips.

Her actions made Tony's throat go dry. Feeling the touch of her lips on his skin- it was all he could do not to shutter.

Ziva could see him clearing his throat and wasn't sure if she should continue or back off and pretend it never happened.

Tony didn't know what to do either, but didn't feel like he was in control of his own body as he leant forward even closer until they were only centimeters apart.

Ziva took this encouragement and closing her eyes, ending the little stare they had going on in the process, leant the rest of the way in. She didn't meet his eager lips right away though.

Instead she detoured and slowly licked the sauce from his cheek. Tony reached up and tangled his hand into her curls trying to redirect her to his awaiting mouth.

Ziva gave in; after all, she craved it just as much as he did. Ziva swiped the sauce off of his lips and pushed her tongue into his mouth.

Of course Tony wasn't one to object, and he couldn't believe the sensation he was feeling at the feel of her tongue sliding against his as he tasted the combination of the sauce and what could only be described as her.

Tony moaned before sliding his free hand along the length of her side to meet her hip. Ziva had one hand fisting against his shirt and the other toying with the hairs at the back of his neck as the kiss only grew more and more passionate.

Tony was just about to pull her leg up to wrap around his waist when they heard a knock at the door. Pulling apart they rested their foreheads together.

"Talk later?" Ziva panted, lips brushing against his.

Tony simply nodded and gave her another light peck.

"You should answer the door while I check on the dinner; you are the hostess after all." Tony said straightening up a bit without pulling his hands away from where they rested on her hips.

"Alright." Ziva relented giving him one more gentle kiss before fully pulling away, fixing her hair and adjusting her shirt back to normal.

_Wow. I would have asked for that recipe ages ago if I knew it would lead to this._


	2. Chapter 2

Ziva looked in the mirror near the door to her apartment to make sure she didn't look like she was just making out with her partner in the kitchen. She smiled at the thought before scolding herself. _I am a grown woman; I shouldn't be acting like an overly excited teenager. This is ridiculous. _But she couldn't help it; it's just what he did to her.

ZIva broke from her reverie when another knock sounded at the door.

Ziva snapped out of it and opened the door with a smile.

She stepped to the side in the small hallway as she greeted Gibbs. He was always the first person to show up to her dinners, and she loved it. She loved seeing him out of work, treating her like the surrogate daughter she was to him.

As he stepped into the hall she shut the door behind him. She leant in and gave a small hug while he placed a small kiss to her forehead before she led him further inside.

She noticed the large case of beer he had in his hand, so they made their way to the kitchen where he could put the beer in the fridge and she could check on the dinner.

Gibbs sent her a skeptical look when he noticed his senior agent was here before he was; Gibbs was nearly half an hour early. He probably thought they spent the day together or else he got a hint and knew what was going on before he got here.

She met his stare, knowing that if she looked away he would know something was up.

It wasn't until now that Tony turned around and saw Gibbs and Ziva's little staring match behind him, he didn't hear them walk in.

DiNozzo didn't want ZIva to break and let Gibbs figure out what happened, since the two of them weren't even really sure about what just went down.

"Hi boss." He interrupted, immediately breaking the stare.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs greeted walking up and giving him a one armed guy-hug before moving over to put the beer away.

DiNozzo also enjoyed his boss outside of work. He was much more open and friendly, still not a very friendly person, but more than he was at work.

It was a nice change, and a constant reminder that if he or any of the team needed him, Gibbs would be there.

That reassurance meant a lot to all of them.

Tony noticed the questioning look in Gibbs' eyes and was just about to explain, but he saw Ziva's warning glance. It was so easy for the two to communicate without words. Just looking at each other and they knew exactly what the other was thinking, and right now Tony got exactly what she was trying to tell him.

_Don't do it. We need to talk first. _

Tony looked back at Gibbs with his classic DiNozzo smile.

"What's up boss?"

"Worked on my boat all day. You?" Tony knew this was his hidden way of finding out if Tony was with Ziva all day.

"Played a pickup game of basketball with some friends earlier, and then came here to help Ziva cook." He didn't necessarily lie to his boss, so it made it easier to pass off as the whole truth.

Gibbs seemed to buy it because he gave a nod before a small smirk turned up the corners of his lips. "Get your ass kicked?"

Ziva laughed at this as she stepped around Tony to pour some pasta into a pot on the stove. As she stepped by her fingers left a trail along his abs, lightly caressing his skin through his shirt.

It was an intimate enough of a gesture to calm him, but small enough to fly under Gibbs' radar.

"Course not, you know I'm undefeatable." Tony answered cockily.

Gibbs huffed at that, but they knew it was all in good fun.

They chatted lightly as more of their friends showed up. First Ducky, then Abby and McGee who drove there together. Finally Palmer and Breena showed up right as the food was ready, apologizing for being late. He got lost on the way over. It wasn't until recently that Breena started joining in on team things, but she was really amiable. Despite how girly and preppy she was, she and Ziva actually got on very well.

Sitting at the Ziva's round dining room table Abby was on one side of Ziva and Jimmy was on the other. Breena sat on the other side of Jimmy, with Ducky to her right. Tony was directly across the table from Ziva, sitting between Ducky and Gibbs. The probie took up the final seat between Gibbs and the gothic queen.

Everyone kept up an idle chat with everyone splitting off into their own little conversations. For the most part they stuck to talking to whoever they sat next to, so they as not to interrupt other people's conversations. Finally Ducky spoke up to talk to Ziva across the table. She was far enough that everyone heard him talking.

"Excellent dinner my dear. This is delicious." Ducky complimented brightly gesturing towards the food.

A content hum of agreement filled the air. The corner of her lips turned up a bit when she looked at Tony who winked back. Laughing inwardly she returned her focus to the older Scotsman.

"Well that's very sweet, but all of this is not my doing." She admitted, nodding to Tony when she was done.

Ducky looked at Tony who smiled in return.

"My grandmother's recipe. I helped a bit." He explained. "If you like it, your all welcome. If not, ZIva made it." He joked.

This brought a chuckle from the group and a playful glare from Ziva.

"At least I didn't get sauce on myself." She jabbed playfully casting her eyes to a spot of sauce on his shirt that everyone else would assume was from him cooking, but only they knew was from ZIva's hands grasping onto his shirt during an intense round of tonsil tennis.

Tony rubbed at the spot for a moment before leaving it and looking back up at ZIva.

Ziva had a joyous glint in her eyes that told him that she knew exactly how that spot got there and that she was glad to have been the one to put it there.

They both knew that the kiss would come one of these days. It wasn't hard to tell they had feelings for one another, they were both simply too afraid to admit it. They were both romantically dysfunctional and weren't sure if they could handle this. It looked like it wouldn't be too long until they found out.

After dinner the group moved to the lounge. Abby wanted to watch a movie, since they hadn't had a movie night since before Dearing, which was over a month ago now.

Ducky and Gibbs figured they should leave the younger friends to themselves now, so ZIva walked them to the door.

Ducky thanked Ziva for the wonderful time and headed off.

Ziva then turned to Gibbs, who wrapped her in a fatherly hug.

"I'm happy for you two Ziver. Some rules are meant to be broken." He whispered to her before pulling away and walking down the hall without another word.

She shut the door behind him and just stood there. She leant against the wall next to her, frozen in shock. She knew that that Tony and her would figure something out if Gibbs got mad about rule twelve, but having his blessing was such a relief to her.

Tony walked out into the hall and called her name. He got worried when he heard the door shut and she didn't come back.

He saw her leaning weakly against the wall and sped up, fearing something was wrong.

"Zi, you okay? What happened?" he asked standing in from of her.

Ziva looked up at him, feeling completely surreal. She simply pushed herself off the wall and opted to lean against him instead.

"Ziva, what's wrong?" He asked again, still concerned as he wrapped his arms around her.

"No Tony, I'm fine. Better than fine, I'm perfect. Everything is perfect." She pulled her head up off his chest to look at him. "Everything is just perfect." She repeated calmly, pressing a soft, short kiss to his lips. They stayed like that for a moment, wrapped around each other, until they heard steps coming from the living room. The loud steps of large clunky shoes could only be classified as Abby.

They hurriedly pulled away just before Abby saw them.

"Come on guys the movie's about to start!" She said grabbing each of their hands and dragging them behind her back into the living room.

The movie was one from Ziva's small, but thanks to a certain movie loving friends, growing movie collection. It was a classic. Annie, the 1982 version.

Of course Tony couldn't help but spew a few random facts during the opening credits. As soon as the first scene started, he shut up.

Jimmy and Breena sat on the loveseat, McGee in a recliner, and Abby, Tony and Ziva on the couch with ZIva in the middle.

As the movie went on Ziva moved closer to Tony, resting against his side. By the time they were singing "Easy Street" Tony's arm was wrapped around Ziva's waist.

Ziva softly hummed along to the music, which of course brought a gentle smile to Tony's face.

It wasn't often Ziva was this relaxed and open. It was nice.

When the movie ended Ziva sat up again and Tony pulled his arm back, they didn't want anyone to notice before they even had a chance to talk.

Jimmy and Breena stood up, saying that it was getting late and they should probably be heading out. Ziva walked them to the door.

When she got back she sat down on the now abandoned loveseat.

McGee looked at Abby and when she felt his eyes on her she met his gaze. She replied with a nod after he silently asked her if she was ready to go.

In sync, they stood up.

"We should get going to. I have church in the morning." Abby announced.

"Yeah, thanks again for dinner. It was great." Tim added.

Ziva stood once again to show her guests out.

"You are welcome McGee, but it really should be Tony you thank. It wouldn't have been so good without him."

Tim sent a smile to the man who was like a brother to him, a silent thanks for the dinner. Tony returned the smile.

The three went to the door and after goodbyes one came back.

Ziva sat down on the couch beside Tony, not as close as she was before. She looked into Tony's eyes and felt all of the nervousness she had about this conversation slip away.


	3. Chapter 3

Once the nerves were out of her system Ziva let a smile grace her lips. Tony caught her infectious happiness and smiled back, still unsure as to what was to come.

Ziva stayed sitting like that, in her own happy bubble. She was confident this conversation would go well, but that didn't mean she was sure as to what she should say. Thankfully Tony spoke first.

"So what happened before? In the hallway you said everything is perfect. What were you talking about?" He asked.

Ziva smiled, finally able to speak.

"I mean whatever happens, we will be fine. If we want this, which I hope we do, we won't lose our jobs or Gibbs' respect."

"He said something to you?"

"Yes Tony. He said he is happy for us and that some rules are meant to be broken." She explained.

Tony leant out a sigh of relief.

"So rule twelve is banished?" Tony asked, inching closer to her.

"Yep."

"Well Ziva David, I wouldn't want to waste such a golden opportunity."

"What are you planning on doing about that exactly?" Ziva asked, also inching closer. Their lips were now only centimeters apart and they could faintly feel the others breath on their skin.

"Ziva?"

"Yes Tony?" Ziva said amusedly.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" He finally asked.

Ziva bit her lip for a moment and tilted her head to the side, as if she were contemplating the offer.

After her mockingly deciding she met his eyes. They told him all the answer he needed.

Ziva leant forward the rest of the way and captured his lips with hers.

The kiss was heated and passionate, like in the kitchen, but much more confident now. Tony wrapped his arms around her slim waist and Ziva moved one leg to his other side, straddling his lap.

Instinctively Tony moved one hand to grip at her waist, balancing her, while the other laced itself into her thick hair.

Ziva's hands were fisting into Tony's shirt for a moment as they moved together as one.

Ziva moved her hands and began to unbutton his shirt.

At this point Tony was breathing heavily while his hands went under her shirt and ran over the smooth, soft skin of her back around to her abs.

Ziva gasped at the feel of Tony's hands on her stomach, but continued lavishing his skin. It was her silent permission. Tony's hands stopped and lingered just below her bra line.

He wasn't sure how far she was willing to go just yet. Ziva noticed his hesitation and forcefully brought her lips crashing into his.

"It's okay Tony." She gasped in between wet kisses.

Tony began kissing his way down her neck, stopping to suck at her collar bone. Meanwhile his hands kept themselves busy palming Ziva's breasts through her thin lace bra.

Tony pulled his hand back around her where they ran up and down her back, sending chills through her spine. Ziva's hands knotted into his short spiked hair as his lips met hers once again and a moan escaped her from somewhere deep in the back of her throat.

Aroused by this, Tony felt his pants begin to tighten. Ziva seemed to notice too when her hands went to release the button of his jeans.

She was surprised when he captured her hand in his, stopping her. Their lips slowed and they took a moment to refill their lungs with some much needed air.

Once he regained some of his breath, Tony spoke softly to her.

"I'm glad we're doing this, and don't think for even a second that I don't want it. But I want _us _to last. I think we should take thing slow. Okay?"

Ziva looked into his eyes and saw the softness in them. Gently, she placed another kiss to his lips.

Ziva nodded. "You are right. Besides, if I get what I want, which is for this to last, then we will have plenty of time in our relationship to do as we please." She said with a small smile.

With that they both knew that this relationship was a serious one. The silent subtext was far more important than the actual words said. Because of this conversation, they both knew that they would be together for years to come, and that was something worth waiting for.

After sitting like that for a few minutes with her head on his shoulder while she still sat on his lap she spoke up once again.

"Tony?" Ziva turned her head in towards his neck and softly kissed his neck.

"Yeah?" He answered stroking along the sides of her thighs.

"It's not too soon for you to stay the night, right? We have done it before after all."

Tony smiled endearingly at how unsure and shy she sounded right then.

"I would love to stay the night Zi." He reassured her.

Ziva lifted her head from his shoulder before standing up all together, holding his hands in hers as she did.

He followed her lead when she pulled him into her bedroom. Ziva went to her walk-in closet and, without bothering to close the door all the way, pulled off her pants and bra having already disposed of her blouse in the lounge. When she came back into the room Tony was sitting on the bed up against the headboard.

She smiled at the fact that he knew which side of the bed to go to by now. Since they had movie nights so often, there were times when Tony stayed the night because he was either drinking throughout the night or he had already fallen asleep and was too tired to drive himself home. On those nights Ziva would wake him and they both slept in her room.

Before tonight they always kept to themselves, staying on their designated side of the bed. But now they were glad when Ziva crawled under the sheets with Tony and curled up into his side.

She lay on her side against him with their legs tangled and her arm resting by her head on his chest.

Tony had one arm wrapped around her, locking her in place, and the other came to entwine with the fingers of the hand that lay on his chest.

Ziva nuzzled her face further into him and Tony buried his in her dark curls, placing a kiss to her widows peak.

They lay there, each of them thinking of the changes tonight brought on. They had known this was coming for a while and were glad it finally did. Tony could feel Ziva's breath even out showing him that she was asleep. He was just about to drift off as well when he had one final thought.

_Thanks for the recipe Nonna._

**FIN**


End file.
